Dōgen places zazen at the very heart of the Buddhist path, not as a preliminary exercise but as the defining activity through which the whole of the Dharma is lived. In his vision, precepts, study, and ritual all find their orientation and clarity in the simple act of seated meditation. This practice is characterized as shikantaza, “just sitting,” a form of meditation in which there is no striving for special states, no manipulation of the mind, and no attempt to secure a particular result. Such sitting is not an escape from the world but a way of meeting reality directly, without adornment or distraction. In this sense, zazen becomes the field in which the practitioner encounters things as they are, beyond the usual habits of grasping and rejection.

At the core of Dōgen’s teaching is the radical claim that practice and enlightenment are not two separate stages but one single, indivisible reality. Zazen is not a technique employed to attain enlightenment at some later time; it is the actualization of enlightenment itself in the present moment. When one truly engages in “just sitting,” Buddha-nature is not being sought as a distant goal but is being expressed here and now. The significance of this perspective is that it undercuts spiritual ambition and gain-seeking, challenging the tendency to treat meditation as a means of self-improvement or acquisition of mystical experiences. Instead, zazen is understood as the direct expression of awakened consciousness, in which one is Buddha rather than becoming Buddha.

This understanding also highlights the deeply embodied character of Dōgen’s approach. Zazen involves the unified activity of body, breath, and mind, so that enlightenment is not reduced to a purely mental state but is realized through the whole person sitting upright in stillness. Such sitting is to be undertaken consistently, regardless of one’s fluctuating insights or moods, emphasizing steady, continuous practice over sporadic, goal-driven effort. In this way, the quality of mind and body cultivated in zazen is meant to permeate all activities—walking, working, eating—so that everyday life itself becomes the ongoing manifestation of Buddha-nature. Through this emphasis, zazen emerges as the cornerstone of the Sōtō Zen tradition, shaping a path marked by simplicity, non-grasping, and the silent, wholehearted enactment of enlightenment in each moment.